Author: Daniel McAdams

Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Charter is inarguably non-binding on Member countries to use military force to defend other Members. Most Americans would not know this, as the Treaty has been consistently misrepresented by those with a stake in binding the US to go to war for foreign interests. In fact, a careful reading of Article 5 makes it clear that other NATO Members are free to do nothing at all if another Member is attacked. A NATO Member is only bound to take "such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area." It may well be deemed necessary to ignore an attack on a NATO Member in many circumstances.

However, misinterpretations are often intentional and perceptions can become more compelling than facts. Therefore any Congressional resolution or other act containing language such as, "The House of Representatives…solemnly reaffirms the commitment of the United States to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s principle of collective defense as enumerated in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty," should be seen as an intentional and willful misrepresentation of the actual meaning of Article 5.

What makes legendary film-maker Oliver Stone tick? How is he able to reach millions with such powerful messages? What motivated him to make his most recent and very controversial “The Putin Interviews,” which is driving the neocons and Washington elites crazy? Today’s Ron Paul Liberty Report catches up with Stone from his Paris hotel room for a very lively and spirited conversation. You will not see this kind of interview on the mainstream media, which has been in “attack” mode since the film came out. Watch it here – and don’t miss Stone’s surprise ending!

What does Saudi King Salman’s surprising succession shake-up earlier this month tell us about stability in the kingdom? Perhaps more than we might think. The new crown prince, bin Salman, is the warhawk architect of the genocidal war on Yemen and the strange blockade of Qatar. The young crown prince is very close to the Trump family and is very well-regarded in Israel. And he hates Iran. Will internal unrest over a failing economy and foreign military adventurism spell doom for young bin Salman? We look at the evidence in today’s Ron Paul Liberty Report:

According to a new Gallup survey, over the past eleven years Americans’ satisfaction with the level of freedom in the country has declined by 16 percent. The US freedom ranking in the world has dropped from 11th to 71st. No other wealthy democracies have experienced such a decline. What’s behind it? The Snowden revelations? Endless wars? Financial system? Our take in today’s Ron Paul Liberty Report:

Last night the White House released a shock statement that the Syrian government was about to use chemical weapons “again” on its citizens and that the United States would launch a massive response. At the time, the AP reported that neither the State Department nor the Pentagon or intelligence agencies seemed to know anything about it. US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley warned that any attack on citizens of Syria would be automatically blamed on Assad (as well as Russia and Iran). It seems Trump is ready for a massive attack on the Syrian government — coincidentally just a day after a major piece by Seymour Hersh showed that the US intelligence community knew that the April “chemical attack” was no such thing but that Trump launched 59 Tomahawk missiles anyway. Trump constantly accuses CNN of purveying “fake news,” but he has shown himself to also be a master at fake news. Something they have in common. More in today’s Ron Paul Liberty Report:

Seymour Hersh’s shocking new investigative report shows that US intelligence knew there was no Assad chemical attack in April, but that President Trump was so influenced by media images (which may have been faked) that he fired 59 Tomahawk missiles into Syria anyway. Meanwhile, rank and file Democrat Members of Congress are growing frustrated over their leadership’s continuing obsession with Russia as public opinion shifts on the issue. Republican Members are pushing for more Russia sanctions. Political shifts, on today’s Ron Paul Liberty Report: